21 February 2006

The great and almighty (designer) oz…

You know the line… “pay no attention to the man behind that curtain.” I hear people talk about others and pay compliments like “she is SUCH a great designer” or “if I only had his skills.” It is possible that spend way too much time pondering a speciic definition of design. Or, that my notion of great is on a single deminsion. I wonder how this can be so simply gauged and so under explained?

What is a great designer… a producer of pretty things? Someone who solves problems? One who makes the client happy and gets invited back, over and over again? This is such an important question that when I hear these statements I want to stop and ask for clarification. Trust me, it’s a pretty quick conversation killer. All I want to know is what makes them great.